Gray Eagle to Operate According to Open Systems Approach
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The Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft System delivers long-endurance surveillance, communications relay, and weapons delivery missions in support of the warfighter.
General Atomics is currently working with the US Army to develop a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) for the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)-capable UAS.
The company is currently testing the MOSA components on a simulator with plans to begin flight testing early next year, along with other industry and government partners selected by the US Army.
The implementation of MOSA will provide multiple new standards for C2, Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE), Open Mission Systems (OMS), Universal Armament Interface (UAI), as well as further segregating the Flight/Mission systems’ hardware and software.
On the aircraft, MOSA will enable rapid integration of advanced payloads, communication equipment, along with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) capabilities. This will reduce the sensor to shooter timelines, while simultaneously reducing the data-link bandwidth requirements in a contested environment, thus increasing range and resiliency.
The software components are being designed to be portable to other manned and unmanned aircraft systems the Army is developing, enhancing capability while reducing cost, according to the company’s announcement.
For the C2 suite on the ground, MOSA implementation will separate the Human Machine Interface (HMI) from the software business logic and will decrease the time associated with interfacing with evolving communication capability in the Joint and multi-national environment. This will allow the Army to tailor the HMI for each platform and minimize regression testing, a capability the Army has never had before.
